Deep Trouble
by DZR
Summary: The parasite from the episode Requiem plus Druitt equals... very bad news.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is set in season 1 after Requiem but before Revelations. Translation: after the submarine ep. but before Ashley *cough,dies,cough*. High five to Selective SciFi Junkie for inspiration. Dedicated to the Druitt Diehards.

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**Deep Trouble**

Henry ran as though his life depended on it. His bare feet slapped against the flagstone floor and he grimaced at the feeling as he wished he had his shoes on. His heart hammered in his chest and he could feel the blood thundering through his head. His breathing was deep and ragged with the effort he was putting into running. He couldn't lose this one. He could hear footfalls speeding along behind him. This was going to be close. He couldn't allow himself to be caught up.

Henry skidded as he ran out of the corridor and into the main entrance hall of the Sanctuary, the change in direction making him lose valuable seconds. His pursuer exited the corridor barely a second after him and thoughtlessly ploughed into his side without any semblance of control, knocking him flying across the room to rest with his face against the wall.

He scrambled to his feet and took off through the front door after his opponent, who had overtaken him with the advantage of the precious seconds he had spent crashing into the wall. They raced down the driveway to the main perimeter gate but Henry couldn't find the extra burst he needed to win and ended his run, stopping himself by slamming into the wall next to the gate.

"Winner winner, chicken dinner!" crowed Ashley as she pulled open the front gate and grinned at the startled delivery man waiting patiently next to the buzzer.

"Ooooeurgh," came Henry's muffled and winded response.

"Where's the chinese takeaway?" she asked, peering around the man in front of her who was suspiciously empty handed.

"I have a delivery for a Doctor Magnus," said the courier.

"Is it chinese?" she asked hopefully.

"I don't think so."

"Is it from China?"

"I, uh, I don't know. It came from the depot." He stepped back and indicated a packing crate the size of a large refrigerator.

"Ooh a box," said Henry, now standing next to Ashley his loss forgotten as he stared enthralled with the mysterious box. "I wonder what's in it. Don't you want to know? Man that is freakin' huge."

"Not really. I want my takeaway. How long does it take?" she grumbled. "Are they out killing the dogs they put in the food!"

"Hey!"

"Sorry. I meant cats."

"Where is the Doc, anyway?" asked Henry, as Ashley signed for the delivery.

"Sweet talking the cops after that, how did she put it? 'Completely unnecessary, utter fiasco', we found ourselves in last night."

"Ahhh, that," he said knowingly.

"Yes, that."

"Cheers dude," Henry said to the delivery man as he left them to it. "Ash, don't you want to know what's in the box?" he asked as they dragged the box in through the front gate and on to Sanctuary property.

"Nope. It'll no doubt be something old, dusty and boring. Or worse, educational."

"Maybe it's your birthday present," he said, nudging her. "Maybe she got you the... you know what."

Ashley paused, her head tilted slightly to the side as she considered this thought. Henry smirked, he had her.

"I guess... it might have come open in transit," she mused.

"Sure, and we had to check it wasn't damaged, right?"

"Right."

"Well, take it inside then."

"It's too big. The Big guy should get it."

"He drove Mom to the cop shop."

"As buff as I am Ash," Henry started to say but was rudely interrupted as Ashley snorted with laughter earning herself a glare. He continued with a sniff. "I cant lift that. We should open it and then we can carry the actual, uh… birthday present. And get the box later."

They stared at the box tingling with anticipation. The last time they had felt like this it had been Christmas, last Christmas in fact. Ashley passed Henry a hunting knife she just happened to have stashed in her boot.

"Why do you have a knife? Isn't that dangerous, especially when you're running?"

"You never know when you might need one, Henry, you never know."

Henry reached forward and touched the crate, looking for somewhere to prise the box open.

A sudden change in air pressure behind them and a muffled thunderclap made them both jump in surprise. The knife in Henry's hand was thrown up in the air and came down and landed behind them. They whirled around to face the intruder, Henry jumped behind Ashley with his back against the crate.

"What's in the box?" asked Druitt, twirling the knife through his fingers like the consummate professional he was.

"Nuh-nuh-nuh nothing, we weren't doing anything, it came open by itself," protested Henry.

"See, you never know when you might need a knife," Ashley hissed at Henry over her shoulder. She turned back to Druitt and shrugged, "Dunno. Did you really have to do that? I could have stabbed you."

Druitt gave her a look which said he didn't think that would ever be a worry of his.

"It would be folly to teleport onto the premises with the EM shield up, so I came to the front entrance. It is the conventional way of entering a building, is it not?"

Ashley was torn between wanting to keep a suspicious eye on Druitt and the gnawing need to know what was in the damn box. She looked from one to the other, the box won in the end and she accepted his presence for the time being. They all eyed the delivery. It was a curiously big box and no one had been expecting anything.

"Maybe Mom's discovered internet shopping and gone crazy."

"She doesn't have a credit card, remember? Cos yours got 'stolen' and someone bought a rocket launcher with it and then 'somehow' you found the Doc's and tried to buy a jet pack with it and she went nuts and cancelled everyone's cards and we have to go through that stupid application process to buy anything. Do you know how hard that makes my job? I cant even buy batteries without having to submit a form."

"Man up Henry. Use cash."

"Ahem," they turned to face Druitt who had been listening to the tirade with puzzlement. He handed Ashley back her knife.

"Good blade. Although you should use a single sided blade, it's better if you need to sharpen it frequently."

"Which I don't," said Ashley, sounding a little creeped out as she thought about where he had picked up that little tip from. "What are you doing here?" she asked him warily. "Mom's not here."

"I know. That's why I'm here."

Henry's grip tightened on Ashley's shoulder which she tried to shrug off without Druitt seeing. The Sanctuary team, Ashley especially, found themselves unsure of themselves when it came to Druitt. On one hand he had helped them out of a few predicaments, was polite, and general feeling was that he meant them no harm. On the other hand he was Jack the Ripper, which unsurprisingly raised a few trust issues.

"What do you want?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you," he said, with a cool, unblinking stare.

Henry yelped and ran back into the Sanctuary. Ashley stayed where she was and called after Henry's fast retreating form.

"Henry, he's joking! Henry! Aww man. What did you have to do that for? He'll be back with a gun and he'll call Mom and that'll make her even more angry."

"Where is your mother?"

"At the police station. There was a little incident last night which she had to... smooth over. We're not allowed to leave the Sanctuary until she gets back and probably not even then," she admitted with a sigh.

"I see. You've been grounded."

"We're not grounded," said Ashley indignantly. "We're erring on the side of caution. It's best not to argue with her when she's in that kind of mood."

"Indeed."

"So, why are you here?"

"I borrowed something. I am simply returning it."

"Does Mom know you borrowed it?"

Druitt ignored the query. "What is in the box?"

Seeing that she wasn't going to get an answer from him she turned back to the box and prised the lid open. It was full to the brim with the polystyrene packing things which may seem cool to start with but soon turn nightmarish when they escape the box and go everywhere. Just like Nubbins. Ashley jumped up and hooked her arms over the side of the box and rummaged through the white foam. She leaned deeper and deeper into the box trying to find the mystery item.

"Is it the jet pack?" An unexpected voice startled her and she overbalanced and tumbled head first into the box. She peered back out over the edge and glared at Henry who was in somewhat false safety, standing at the opposite side of the box to Druitt.

"No, chicken. It's not the jet pack. I had to cancel that order," she muttered, still bitter over the whole incident.

Henry dared a glance at Druitt who was watching him with unconcealed amusement.

"I've found it!" Ashley held a glass jar up over her head triumphantly.

"What is it?"

She shook it vigorously, which if Magnus had been there to see would have made her wince with alarm.

"It's some kind of clear liquid."

"Are you kidding me? A jar of water! I don't think I've ever been more disappointed. That huge, massive box and all that's in it is some water. Is this some kind of a joke!" said Henry in mild outrage. He leaned over and whispered his confession in Ashley's ear. "I couldn't leave you alone with him. I don't think he should be here when Magnus isn't."

"I can handle him," she whispered back as they examined the jar.

Henry doubted that but wisely didn't say so aloud. "Ash, I really think you should get him to go. The Doc will freak."

"She wont freak. She never freaks."

"She wont be happy."

He was right, again. Ashley turned to Druitt.

"You've got ten minutes to return whatever it is that you stole and then you have to leave. You know you're not supposed to be here."

Druitt inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"Henry, take this to the lab.," ordered Ashley, doing a passable impersonation of her mother. "I'll stay with Druitt 'til he leaves."

"Are you sure?" asked Henry.

"Sure, I'm sure. What's the worst that could happen?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was beyond late when Magnus returned to the Sanctuary. The building was quiet and darkened. She bade Bigfoot goodnight in the garage as he cleaned down the car and made her way into the main building.

A flickering light from the private quarters drew her like will-'O'-wisp to the lounge where the TV was still switched on. Despite her long arduous evening Magnus couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of her. Ashley and Henry were sprawled fast asleep on the sofa, empty takeaway cartons strewn everywhere, all picked clean. She'd never known anyone in all her hundred and fifty eight years eat so much as those two.

A menacing groan filled the room and made Magnus look up at the television screen. Someone in truly unfortunate make-up was lurching about the screen. They were watching a zombie film or some such nonsense. She leaned over and took the remote out of Ashley's hand where even in slumber it was tightly gripped, an instinctive reaction from years of Henry trying and invariably failing to gain control of the remote.

Magnus switched off the TV and gently nudged Henry. Still mostly asleep he rolled off the sofa and stumbled across the hall to his bedroom without uttering a sound or even opening his eyes. He probably wouldn't remember that Magnus had even been there when he woke up the next morning. Next she turned to Ashley as a small snore emanated from where she lay curled up on the sofa, her arms fiercely hugging a cushion tightly. Magnus gently tucked back a lock of blonde hair which had tumbled over her cheek behind her ear as she watched her daughter sleep.

The past couple of days had been exhausting for all members of the Sanctuary but most especially for Ashley who had been on a 36 hour abnormal hunt throughout the city. Due to an argument between Ashley and Henry, it wasn't unusual they argued more often than not, a new specimen had escaped while being transferred to the Sanctuary. To their credit, Ashley and Henry had been horrified and taken full responsibility for the careless accident and had spent two days hunting it down and capturing it before it could unleash unknown mischief on the city. They hadn't slept and had probably barely eaten in that time. They had finally found the abnormal frolicking in a fountain in broad daylight in the city centre in full view of the public. Police had been called in to control the panicking public and Magnus had spent the evening trying to convince the police that there wasn't a dangerous animal loose but rather, a very sick looking pet had escaped. They had taken a lot of persuading.

Magnus pulled a blanket over Ashley and left her to her sleep undisturbed. She picked up the food cartons and took them down to the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of wine. Not that she needed an excuse but it had been a very long day.

As was her usual routine each night, Magnus walked the halls of the Sanctuary and checked on all the residents before she herself turned in. Her protege, Will, was away on a hard earned vacation and even though there was no doubt in her mind that Ashley and Henry would have already done the rounds, Magnus continued on her route. She checked readings, controls, patient statistics and in some cases that certain doors were locked. The electro magnetic field which surrounded and engulfed the Sanctuary was, as per usual, double checked and was found to be running within normal operational parameters. Everyone and everything was asleep. All appeared normal.

Appearances can be deceiving.

During her rounds Magnus was aware of an unidentifiable niggling worry in the back of her mind. Despite her inspection of the whole facility she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched from the shadows. Every time she turned to look there was no one there. She shook her head and laughed at herself, she must be getting old. Either that or she was seeing things, or perhaps the day had taken more out of her than she had realised. She felt as tired as Ashley and Henry had looked. Magnus decided to call it a night and began to make her way back to her own private quarters. There was only one more resident to check on and she could do that on the way to her bedroom.

Magnus crossed the open area where Sally's tank was situated expecting to find her friend asleep. To her surprise as soon as Sally saw Magnus she began to agitatedly tap on the glass of her tank to gain her immediate attention.

"What is it my dear?" Magnus asked softly holding her palm against the glass. The closer contact enabled Sally to better communicate her thoughts to Magnus.

The mermaid tried to communicate the feeling. There was nothing she could pin point but something was wrong, very wrong. Something in the water, not her water. Magnus frowned. What did that mean? Sally didn't get worked up for no reason.

"I'll have another look around," she said to try and reassure the mermaid but this only had the effect of distressing Sally further. "Slow down, I can't understand you if you go too fast," said Magnus in a soothing tone. "You don't want me to go alone?"

Sally shook her head fervently.

Magnus looked puzzled and then absolutely stunned as Sally, for the first time ever since Magnus had known her, opened her mouth and with phenomenal effort, spoke. It was difficult to understand through the barriers of water and glass separating the two women but Magnus caught the meaning immediately.

"Him."

She stepped back and her hands dropped to her sides. Understanding was written across her face and Sally had no doubt her meaning had been taken as she had meant it. Magnus' face flushed with adrenaline and fear. Him, as in Druitt, and not the arguably strangely cooperative kind of Druitt they had encountered in Rome recently but the worst kind.

Ashley.

That explained the uncomfortable feeling she had encountered throughout the Sanctuary. She cursed herself for being such a fool. For letting her guard down _ever_ against that man. He had been watching her. Haunting the corridors. Waiting... for what?

Ashley.

He hadn't hurt anyone, yet.

Ashley!

She had to get to Ashley, to check on her again to make sure she was safe. And to utilise her firearms skill.

Next to Sally's habitat was Magnus' own laboratory where she hurried to to get a round of tranquilisers. She paused as she looked at what she was doing. Tranquilisers, huh. She was still unconsciously protecting him. Why? She put the clip in her pocket and reloaded the gun with live ammunition. Tungsten tipped shells which wouldn't sedate the beast but most definitely stop him, for good.

If Magnus had been in a calmer place she would have taken longer to ponder the apparent explosion which had occurred in her lab. A smashed packing crate was strewn about the place, polystyrene packaging rested on everything like a layer of marshmallows.

What had been going on? Had there been a struggle? Had Druitt attacked someone? Taking a precious moment to investigate Magnus stepped into a puddle of water on the floor and paused to take a closer look.

She traced the liquid to a broken jar on her workbench and walked over to examine it. Large sections of jagged glass were lying on its side in more water which pooled on the table. She picked up a glass piece with a label on it. Something had been written on it but the ink had run in the water. Picking up another glass shard she found a piece of the label which had remained dry. There was only one word on this section. 'Nautil-', the rest of the word was smudged.

The parasite theyhad encountered whilst in the Nautilus. What the hell was a sample doing here, in her Sanctuary, on her workbench, broken and spilled everywhere? Someone had opened it, scattered it, may have been contaminated by it. Ashley. Henry. She spun around to run and find them.

"Hello Helen."

Startled by his appearance Magnus remained silent as she took in the unexpected sight in front of her. Shadows hid his eyes, his coat glistened with what she prayed was water and he held his hands out slightly from his side as though to indicate he was unarmed, which she knew not to be true.

"John."

He didn't move, didn't say anything. To her eyes he seemed to be swaying slightly.

"John, what's happened here? Are you all right?"

He smirked which then slowly turned into a sneer.

"Did you open the sample?" asked Magnus.

"What do you think?" He took a step forward and she matched it by taking a step back.

"Ashley," said Magnus, unable to hide the worry in her voice. "What did you do to her? Did you expose them to the parasite?"

"This thing?" he asked quietly, dabbing his hand into the water puddle on the tabletop. He waved his hand in the air in front of him watching water droplets fall from his fingers with fascination. "My friend," he whispered cryptically.

"Why?" he demanded suddenly of Magnus. "It wouldn't be a bad thing. She could hear this music. The sea. I can hear the sea."

He smiled at her, the one thing which creeped her out more than anything else he could possibly have done. He took another step toward her and this time she backed away as fast as possible. Not taking her eyes off him, her arms flailed as she tripped over the remains of the packaging crate and hit her head on the side of the bench as she fell to the floor. Druitt faded into blackness.

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_I stole the repeating Ashley's name thing from someones fic. I can't remember where or whose, I'm sorry! Tell me who you are! Hope that's OK, I thought it was a really effective way of seeing Magnus' thoughts. I know nothing about bullets or guns so I just made it up. Yey fanfic!._


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